Prime Minister Says Opening Up of Space Sector Will Lead To Huge Opportunities

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an interaction with key industries, Start-ups and academia from the Space sector via video conferencing to encourage their participation in space activities.

The Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister took the historic decision in June 2020 to open up the Space sector and enable the participation of Indian private sector in the entire gamut of space activities. With the creation of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the reforms will provide a level playing field for private companies and start-ups. Subsequently, several ventures have submitted proposals with IN-SPACe under the Department of Space. The proposals pertain to a vast range of activities including satellite constellation, small satellite launch vehicles, ground station, geospatial services, propulsion systems and application products.

Prime Minister thanked the participants to the conference for providing feedback about their experience so far. He said that the decision to unlock India’s potential in the Space sector has heralded a new age of public-private partnership in this sector. He assured the participants of complete and wholehearted support of the government in this endeavour. He noted that the professionalism and transparency in policies as well as the decision-making process of the government will prove beneficial for the companies joining the Space sector.

Taking note of the plans of companies to make rockets and satellites, Prime Minister Modi remarked that this marks a big change that will further strengthen India’s foray into the Space sector. He said that private investment in the sector will lead to the creation of hi-tech jobs, which will provide a host of opportunities to the talent pool in IITs/NITs and other technical institutions. Mr. Modi said that it is his firm belief that just like Indian talent has been able to attain worldwide fame in the IT sector, it will be able to do so in the Space sector as well.

Prime Minister underlined that the reforms in the Space sector are not limited to ensuring ease of doing business, but necessary mechanisms have also been put in place to ensure help for the participants at each stage, including making available testing facilities and launch-pads. He said that through these reforms, the endeavour is not only to ensure that India becomes a competitive space market, but also to ensure the benefits of the space programme reach out to the poorest. He asked the participants to think boldly and work for the benefit of the society and the country. Prime Minister Modi underlined the significance of the Space sector in communication and navigation. He assured the participants that they will be co-passengers with ISRO in this age of space research and expressed hope that the country would soon become the manufacturing hub of space assets.

Dr K. Sivan, Secretary, Department of Space (DOS) and Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), briefed the Prime Minister on various proposals received from industry for obtaining permission from IN-SPACe and support from the Department of Space. He informed that more than 25 industries have already approached DOS for undertaking their space activities.

During the interaction, the participants provided feedback on the reforms to the Prime Minister. Sunil Bharti Mittal from Bharti Enterprises, Jayant Patil from Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Srinath Ravichandran from Agnikul Cosmos Pvt Ltd, Pawan Kumar Chandana from Skyroot Aerospace Ltd, Colonel H S Shankar from Alpha Design Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Rakesh Verma from MapmyIndia, Awais Ahmed from PIXXEL India and Mrs. Srimathy Kesan from Space Kidz India expressed their views during the session. The participants thanked the Prime Minister for opening up the sector for private participation, adding that this will help India move towards becoming a superpower in space technology. They expressed resolve to work as active participants in the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. They appreciated the help and guidance being provided by ISRO for their projects and said that the collaboration of private agencies with ISRO will not only result in more rocket launches per year but will also shape new technological advancements in the development of rocket engines. They also suggested opening up ISRO facilities for children to draw them further into this sector.

Script: Kaushik Roy, AIR: News Analyst

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